I put this small 6lb flat on at 8 am and its 10 am now and the temp is at 158. I was gonna throw in a foil pan at 170 this is ridiculous lol. Anyone else experience this? Temperature probe is maverick et 732 and is calibrated so idk what to do. I guess just go with the plan.

That is a very fast temperature rise... I've attached a plot from a 8-9 lb whole brisket that I did a while back. Smoker temp was ~250. It stops at 180, but I cooked it to 190+.

I'd shoot for a higher target temp than 170. 190 to 200 is common for brisket if you like it to be very tender. If you like a bit more firmness in the flat then 180-190. I like 195, but I usually do a whole packer cut brisket with the flat and the point.

Just off the top of my head I'd be doing the following:

1) Double checking the thermometer location to make sure it's nice and centered in the flat

2) Checking smoker temperature, target should be ~225 and probably not much higher than 250

If you get to the point where you believe the 158 that you are measuring is really the internal temp of the flat then you should expect that this thing still has quite a bit of time to go. The temperature will likely 'stall' at some point as the heat goes to denaturing collagen and connective tissues that make the brisket tender. Resist the urge to crank the smoker temp up if you see the internal temp stop going up. The 'stall' is a normal and necessary part of making a tough piece of brisket turn into a tender smoked brisket.

Sounds like you are in the thick of it... if you want to chat don't hesitate to give me a ring at 415-269-5762

250-260 the whole smoke so far according to the maverick. The temp probe is reading 196 right now it stalled at about 170 so at 200 I'm gonna probe it and see how tender it is. Its just weird because its only been on 4hrs lol. Last one i did took all day.

Ya its wrapped so well see what happens its been cool wrapped in foil and towels for 1 hr 15 now so ill let you guys know what happens in about 45 min when i slice. Wife has camera at work so not sure if ill be able to get pics out of foil or slices for that matter well see. Thanks for everything.

Ok so i pulled it out of the foil and had a nice smoke ring was tender but still on the dry side. Don't understand this. I mean its not like I'm getting prime brisket from the commissary lol. But the au ju i got in the pan was awesome. Just put it in the fridge and let the fat rise to the top scooped that out and applied to brisket and was awesome.

I can only speak from experience in smoking packer cut briskets (flat and point still together with a fair amount of fat left on) since I've never smoked a flat alone. Having said that, if I recall correctly the fattier side of the brisket is on the point. For this reason the packer cut brisket should be smoked point up / flat down. That fat cap provides 'protection' from 'drying out' to the meat below as it is smoked. During the smoke that fat cap is rendered (essentially softened / liquified) and it bastes the brisket below it. This layer of fat on the top of the brisket is usually pretty thick and most guys will trim it back some... you can find many opinions on the best ways to trim a brisket on this site.

In your case the point was removed from the brisket and sold separately. So the only potential fat remaining to baste the flat during the smoke would be the smaller seam of fat between the point and the flat. On top of that sometimes aggressive butchers will remove most or all of this from a flat that is cut to be sold for pot roast or some other cooking method that is going to immerse the meat in liquid since this fat will liquify in a pot roast and make for a pretty oily pot pot roast.

In addition, the flat is the leaner part of the brisket to begin with... the point not only has a thicker lay of fat on the top side, but also generally has more marbling (fat veins distributed within the meat itself).

Again, I am not speaking from experience in terms of smoking a brisket flat by itself, but I suspect that a combination of the things above could contribute to a drier flat.

Try a whole packer cut brisket next time and I bet you'll find that it's even better than the brisket you just did!

Thank you very much for that explanation meat hound. Im more happy with this brisket than the last that for sure. Wife was happy to but hopefully next time i can get a nice juicy brisket instead of having to rely on the au ju for moisture.